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Doctor Byron Orpheus
Dr. Byron Opheus is a major supporting character on the Adult Swim show The Venture Bros. He is a very obvious parody of Marvel Comics' Doctor Strange, sharing his mystical powers and methods of speech. Orpheus physically resembles Vincent Price. He is voiced by Steven Rattazzi. Personality and Relationships Dr. Orpheus is an expert necromancer, so far the only one of his kind seen on the show. He is head-strong, tends to be unaware of the perils of most situations, and is quite the dramatist (almost to the point of being utterly pompous). He has quite a large, extensive vocabulary he freely uses, though his theatrics tends to spill over into his more everyday activities (such as offering a snack of pizza rolls with an unnecessarily dramatic flourish). Unlike some more conventional characters, Dr. Orpheus sometimes uses his great powers in very mundane ways (he can be seen using telekinesis to help him prepare dinner in the episode "Ghosts of the Sargasso"). He seems to be somewhat self-conscious of the fact that despite his abilities, he leads a rather ordinary life. Perhaps this is best illustrated by his proclamation that although he only holds a bachelor's degree in communications from a community college (with a minor in women's studies), he has been granted a doctorate from "a higher power". He has rented out a section of the Venture compound, where he lives with his teenaged daughter Triana (who dresses in goth style, although it is unclear whether this is due to the influence of her father's "career" or an ironic statement on it). Although Dr. Orpheus seems out of touch with reality at times, and tends to embarrass his daughter at least as much as any typical teenager's parents do, the two have an apparently good relationship with each other. Triana is apparently uncomfortable with her father's ability to raise the dead; she actually began to sob when he discussed his attempt to resurrect the Venture boys. Dr. Orpheus' age has not been specifically mentioned; although Triana's youth might hint that he is in his thirties, his gray hair and lined face seem to indicate a more advanced age. He is quite protective of Hank and Dean, and seems to bear more fatherly feelings towards them than does their own father (an ongoing joke in the series -- even The Monarch seems to like the boys more than Dr. Venture does). Dr. Orpheus was utterly devastated by the boys' deaths in "Return to Spider-Skull Island," suffering under a great deal of self-imposed guilt. He was shocked to learn that they were clones, despite his own plan to resurrect them. Despite his wisdom and experience, he seems oblivious to Dean's crush on his daughter. He and Dr. Venture get along fairly well, although Dr. Venture is often annoyed by Orpheus' passion for theatrics. Dr. Orpheus has admitted that he frankly envies Dr. Venture's more adventurous and exciting life, and desperately desires an archenemy; during the episode "Tag Sale -- You're It!," he deliberately attempted to insult villains while handing them business cards and later openly solicited nemeses during a battle. Orpheus has gone so far as to petition The Guild of Calamitous Intent for a regular foe (expressing preference for a female redhead with the possibility of romantic tension). In the episode "Powerless in the Face of Death", he mentions several celebrity "clients" he has rescued from death specifically, magician David Blaine, stuntman Evel Knievel, and former president Ronald Reagan (until a check bounced). History and Activities on the Show Very few details of Dr. Orpheus' life have been revealed. He has remained silent about Triana's mother, except that she left him "for a young necromancer." His first appearance on The Venture Bros. comes soon after he begins renting from Dr. Venture ("Eeney, Meeney, Miney... Magic!"); his mystical powers prove useless in rescuing Brock and the boys from the "joy can," but Dean's feelings for Triana prove the key to their freedom. Disgusted by the revelation that the machine is powered by an orphan's heart, he destroys it with bolts of mystic power. He has had minor appearances in several episodes, such as in "Ghosts of the Sargasso," in which he finds Jonas Venture's notes regarding Major Tom and puts the boys in contact with the pilot's widow, and "Tag Sale -- You're It!," in which he helps the Ventures with their yard sale. The original Team Venture briefly mistook Dr. Orpheus for a villain in "Past Tense." When Action Man grazes his arm with a bullet and attempts to attack him again after learning that he is a friend, Orpheus predicts the elderly hero's death from a stroke in the near future and leaves coldly. The necromancer plays a pivotal role in "The Trial of the Monarch," using his powers to view the past in serve as a witness. Before he can testify to The Monarch's innocence, however, Guild agents led by the Phantom Limb immobilize everyone in the courtroom. The Limb takes advantage of Orpheus' "frozen" state to implant subliminal instructions in his mind; unaware that anything has happened, Dr. Orpheus unwittingly perjures himself and declares The Monarch guilty. Apparently based on this "trustworthy" testimony, the costumed villain is sentenced to a lengthy prison term. In "Return to Spider-Skull Island," the first-season finale, Orpheus is asked to take care of Hank and Dean while Brock attends to their father during a medical emergency. When the boys run away in a mistaken fit of jealousy, Orpheus decides to watch over them from a distance and keep them out of trouble. Although he fails to prevent their arrest (apparently for driving their hoverbikes too slowly), he drives Dr. Venture and Brock to and from the prison to bail them out. Orpheus allows the boys to drive several hundred yards ahead of them to give them more freedom, but two of The Monarch's henchmen accidentally kill the boys in a fiery explosion. In the subsequent episodes, the sorceror is wracked with guilt and misery over his perceived role in their deaths, and finally resolves to resurrect them. He is unable to locate their souls in the astral plane, however, and seems horrified when he learns that the boys have been repeatedly cloned by their father. (Dr. Venture argues an interesting point: what he did was no different than what Orpheus had planned, but used science instead of magic.) Category:The Venture Bros. characters